Syndication:

On February 22, the 9th circuit declined to strike down Oregon’s law, banning the practice of paying initiative circulators per signature. The court said “We do not hold that the law is facially constitutional. Rather, we hold that the district court did not clearly err in determining plaintiffs failed to establish that the law imposes a severe burden.” Evidence in the case presented by the plaintiffs was feeble, whereas the state did a better job of presenting evidence in support of the law. Prete v Bradbury, 04-35285. A similar law had been upheld in North Dakota, but similar laws in Idaho, Maine, Mississippi and Washington had been struck down in U.S. District Courts.